Missouri Lawmakers Don't Want Food Stamp Recipients To Buy Steak

a reply to: coldkidc

And in comparison to the much bigger problem they are irrelevant. Your problem target priorities are seriously messed up, as is a lot of peoples which is why this situation will never improve because rather than focusing on the real problems in our world we nitpick this little # and make a big deal out of the minor problems while the big serious ones get ignored.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

I read somewhere that if churches were taxed, it would pay for EBT entirely, AND have enough left over to house the entire homeless population of the USA. But, that's another debate for another thread.

Your absolutely right though about the cost -- people make it a big deal because its a visible "hand out".

I sat for a while today and actually thought about what it would be like to be on EBT. I actually imagined myself having a card that bought me food. I sat and thought, and "ran it forward" in my mind. I honestly have to say, that over time I could see myself starting to buy some junk food here and there. I mean, it's an expense I don't have to worry about. I saw myself being frugal as can be at first, but then I started to see myself slipping here and there.

It was hard, as I've always had to pay for my own groceries. I wonder if EBT pay more or less attention to prices since it isn't their money? I know my girl and I have been using an app that has coupons and sales. I know, I know "NWO!" with grocery store club cards...but I really could care less if Safeway knows I like a certain brand of cereal. Hell, maybe they'll be able to keep it in stock since they know I buy it regularly?

Edit to add: Holy crap! I just learned you CAN use coupons on SNAP/EBT! I'd be couponing the crap out whatever I bought to stretch that money farther! Have you seen the insane coupon people? I'd have myself a binder full of coupons!

a reply to: Puppylove

Well...the truth is that you have no idea where my priorities lie...
We've got too many problems to even start listing them.

I'm only talking about this one today because there was a thread on it...it wasn't even on my radar before this discussion.

Regarding the thread - it's obvious, my answer is, no, you should not be able to buy steak & lobster with government assistance.

a reply to: WhoDat09

Not when I see people on their brand new iPhone 6 talking in line with 3 carts full of hot dogs, chilli, chips, cakes, soft drinks etc.. pull out a food stamp card and pay with that.

That much? Probably big families. You do realize that some people save up little money every month before being able to get iPhones? I know of one guy who saved up for 1 year to get a good computer.

originally posted by: coldkidc
Unfortunately, there's a certain percentage of the poor that put themselves there because of poor decision making skills and spending $9-10 on a steak when you have $25 a day to feed yourself seems like a poor financial decision.
But, if you insist, then do it with your own money.

Being on assistance shouldn't be comfortable...it's unhealthy.

When you're poor, it's easier than normal to make poor financial decisions. Once the reality sets in that you are poor and you will always remain poor there's just not much of a reason to try and make better decisions.

Let me give one example, there's a big disconnect in terms of percentage of income in what someone with more money considers expensive and what someone with less money considers expensive. To the poor person such as those on food stamps it is a daily occurrence to pay 1% of your monthly income on food per day, or 30% of your annual income. This is considered completely run of the mill. To a person with more money, dropping 30% of your annual income on something is considered a major expense. For example a traditional engagement ring is 2 months salary or 16% of your income and that's hopefully a 1 time purchase at half the relative expense. Expensive to a person with a lot of money is 0.5% of their monthly income where as a run of the mill daily expense to a poor person is 1%.

Do you see the disconnect here? People at the bottom, just to survive have to make what would be by the standards of any worthwhile financial planner going by just the numbers extremely poor financial decisions.

a reply to: Deaf Alien

Not to mention the people that had these things before things went bad. I recently have been jobless with no money. I didn't immediately throw out my phone and laptop.

Mentioned a bit earlier about my situation. Fortunately I got a job today I believe, go in for orientation type stuff tomorrow I think, more complete details anyway. Managed to get out of a jobless situation in under a month, I feel lucky.

For years, I"ve thought that we need to revamp the whole assistance program.

1.) Instead of food stamps provide food to the poor. This would be nutritious healthy food. You could employ people to box and deliver this food. Also, instead of paying farmers to not plant, you could take excess food produced by farmers and use this as the basis for all food being delivered to the poor.

2.) Welfare should be viewed as a short term emergency aid. After 6-12 months on welfare, you should be required to attend classes or job training for jobs available in your area. Also while on welfare you should have to work at least 3 days a week for you local state/county/ city. Imagine having available labor for doing whatever your city deems a priority. You could use the available labor to provide child care so other poor people can work or have them deliver the food in item 1.

3.)If you are on welfare over a certain number of years, you should be put in something equivalent to the CCC way back during the depression. You would have to work on public projects and may have to move to where the projects are. You could be clearing trails in national parks or improving drainage in flood prone areas.

a reply to: Deaf Alien

That much? Probably big families. You do realize that some people save up little money every month before being able to get iPhones? I know of one guy who saved up for 1 year to get a good computer.

Go ahead man...keep making excuses then.

You know that's a bunch of BS...if someone is rocking a phone that came out 6 months ago for $300 then they aren't doing too bad...especially considering they have to be paying a data plan that probably is costing them about $100-140/mo.

a reply to: Deaf Alien

And lets not forget promotions...

I got an iPhone 4s for like $100 if I signed a 3 year contract. I don't know if they do that anymore, but I'd still be using that phone today if I hadn't switched carriers.

I've seen ads recently where one carrier will buy/pay off your old phone and contract to get you to switch. I'm sure they also subsidize the phones, or something. Having a smart phone isn't an indication at all of having money or swindling the system. There are some fancy "looking" unlocked Android phones on Amazon for under $100 bucks. They're better than the "free" government phones, but still not expensive.

Now, if someone rolled up in a Tahoe with flashy rims and a killer sound system, and used EBT ... I'd have to wonder where the money for that SUV came from...

a reply to: Puppylove

Not to mention the people that had these things before things went bad. I recently have been jobless with no money. I didn't immediately throw out my phone and laptop.

Oh that's true. Things can go south fast. They can lose jobs. Anything they had they will still have. Homes, cars, computers, whatever.

a reply to: coldkidc

Go ahead man...keep making excuses then.

Excuses for what? That they have iPhones? As Puppylove has stated, they may have already had iPhones before things went south.

originally posted by: coldkidc
I do think complaining that your government assistance doesn't buy you steak and lobster

How did you get that from the thread?

It doesn't get much more backwards than that. Here is the title of the article linked in the OP "Missouri Republicans are trying to ban food stamp recipients from buying steak and seafood".

So the problem is that government assistance can buy you steak and lobster, probably with voodoo economics in the household budgeting, and some people, who are not the ones receiving assistance, don't like it.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

Now, if someone rolled up in a Tahoe with flashy rims and a killer sound system, and used EBT ... I'd have to wonder where the money for that SUV came from...

Now there's someone with good sense.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

Well, I can only speak for myself but I pay only moderate attention to prices. I buy the store brand rather than the name brand olive oil for example and if there's a sale on one type of pasta over another I'll gravitate towards that. But for the most part, I don't enter a grocery store with a preset list of things to buy. I have my eating habits, and I largely stick to that food. I don't really have the luxury to pick and choose what I would like to buy but instead need to stick to things I can afford and that's a pretty short list. Usually it's things like salads+rice or pasta+soup for a week.

I've been on food stamps for awhile now. Here in Ohio they did a round of cuts a while back and I actually agreed with them, that dropped me from $200/month to $100/month. They were in my opinion making it far too easy to buy junk food. I would do things like buy one of those occasional $8 chocolate bars with them and I was getting enough that it would just pile up. At one point I had $500 in reserve (so enough for 3 months food) because they were giving too much away.

Then it was cut to $125 and I thought that was pretty fair. The stockpile went away and I mostly still ate well, I went to bed with a full stomach each night.

Then they cut it to $42 (all these with no change in income), and now it is definitely far too low. $10/week to eat on is simply not enough.

You know, lots of people make really stupid purchases and then go and lose their jobs, is not unheard of, but yes, there are criminal elements that lie on their applications and abuse the system.

There are drug dealers with no official legal income on food stamps, there are people who live with others and pool resources that lie and say they don't that are on food stamps. All of this is illegal.

The pooling and lying is the most common illegal lie that results in the system being broken. It's a crime, these people are not using the system legally, it is not how the system is supposed to work.

So people see people who are breaking the law doing things with food stamps, and then screaming foul at all the honest people with food stamps that are using it while following all the rules.

As for it being on everyone else' money, that usually bull#. I pay taxes, have all my life, so when I fall and needed food stamps it was something like you I paid into. When # hits the fan and you all need help, you've paid into it as well.

I know I've had more taxes taken out of my paycheck by a lot than all the money I've ever spent using food stamps, so to those saying they paid for my food while I was on food stamps, you can bite me.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

Is a 2015 Licoln Navigator, good enough. That's the vehicle they were trying to put their food in when I walked out. I don't think these people had to save up any money for the iPhone.

a reply to: Aazadan

When you're poor, it's easier than normal to make poor financial decisions. Once the reality sets in that you are poor and you will always remain poor there's just not much of a reason to try and make better decisions.

Let me give one example, there's a big disconnect in terms of percentage of income in what someone with more money considers expensive and what someone with less money considers expensive. To the poor person such as those on food stamps it is a daily occurrence to pay 1% of your monthly income on food per day, or 30% of your annual income. This is considered completely run of the mill. To a person with more money, dropping 30% of your annual income on something is considered a major expense. For example a traditional engagement ring is 2 months salary or 16% of your income and that's hopefully a 1 time purchase at half the relative expense. Expensive to a person with a lot of money is 0.5% of their monthly income where as a run of the mill daily expense to a poor person is 1%.

Do you see the disconnect here? People at the bottom, just to survive have to make what would be by the standards of any worthwhile financial planner going by just the numbers extremely poor financial decisions.

I get it - that's why I think it's stupid to spend what little you have on steak & lobster.

a reply to: coldkidc

I get it - that's why I think it's stupid to spend what little you have on steak & lobster.

And you care why?

They will wise up when they see their food running out in less than a month.

a reply to: daskakik

originally posted by: coldkidc I do think complaining that your government assistance doesn't buy you steak and lobster, which by-the-way, is something many hard working citizens not on the government dole can't afford, is petulantly ungrateful & entitled.

originally posted by: daskakik
How did you get that from the thread?
It doesn't get much more backwards than that. Here is the title of the article linked in the OP "Missouri Republicans are trying to ban food stamp recipients from buying steak and seafood". So the problem is that government assistance can buy you steak and lobster, probably with voodoo economics in the household budgeting, and some people, who are not the ones receiving assistance, don't like it.

Not sure I understand what your trying to say:

Missouri Rep tries to ban the purchase of steak & lobster with foodstamps
Some people complain because they feel they should be able to buy steak & lobster with their foodstamps.

The end...it's what the threads about homie.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

I read somewhere that if churches were taxed, it would pay for EBT entirely, AND have enough left over to house the entire homeless population of the USA. But, that's another debate for another thread.

No it's not, if religious organizations can pick-up the slack then yes but far too many Creflo Dollars (his real name) need that latest model jet, how many working poor on food stamp give money to this dick! and others like him..tax the helloutta them they are multinational corp selling dreams Hollywood get taxed don't they??
Creflo Dollar's Gulfstream for God?
edition.cnn.com...
klik^ for his story.